The Buffalo of the Sea
by Hilzey
Summary: Nego summons a white buffalo. A bit on the small side with blunt horns, Tagu seems a bit comical. With a dark past and an uncertain future, Nego meets Hazel, just Hazel. A girl who has a much darker past and a mysterious story to tell. Both suffering from the bonding sickness with stories to share, they both fall in a dangerous mission to save Erdas.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, I know some of you guys might be mad at me. I had TWO stories going on, and they are all deleted :( Look, the first one was going seriously well, but school was horrible, and I am not making excuses, I AM NOT LYING! School in Asia is tough, you should see the work and canteen in Chinese school! The second one was, well, no reviews, or followers, so, BYE-BYE!**

 **Look, I hope you fanfictioners out** **there** **can forgive me, this is a bit like my ex-second story, for those who read it. (I also like one review per chapter, that helps me continue) I'm really sorry for any grief I caused to those reading my first story, I wish I could apologise in person.**

 **The waits MIGHT be long, but just so you guys know, I will never, ever, give up on my stories ever again. Peace.**

The night was dark, which is to say, perfectly normal. But there was a strange feeling, like they were waiting for something to happen.

Smoke flew in the sky, carried away by the wind with the dancing leaves and flying dust. There was a boy, wearing khaki coloured pants, a grey shirt and a lighter grey coat that was three sizes too big for him. He was barefoot and next to him, was a serene-looking buffalo. It was pure white in colour, with dangerous yet majestic looking matching-white horns, tall enough to look the boy in the eye.

But it's eyes seemed to be unsure which colour to take, flickering to brown and stormy grey. The boys hood was pulled well over his face. Messy, brown hair poked out of it. The buffalo gave a low rumble.

Nego (knee-go) was tall for his age. His brown eyes were a bit like the buffalo-sad, peaceful and yet, alert. Tagu was a strange companion, he was a fearsome looking beast, but those eyes would tell you he would never hurt anyone.

Tagu was the complete opposite of a normal buffalo. Most buffaloes would run if they saw a pride of lions hunting them and they were alone; Tagu would just stand there, chewing the grass and like magic, they would leave, giving small whimpers of terror.

Nego poked the fire as the contents in the bronze pot boiled. Whiffs of salt and soup flew in to the air, cubes of white tofu floated in the broth. Tagu looked at the pot and nudged him. "Fine, the fire will be out soon," he hissed. Tagu flicked his tail and gave an urgent snort. With one mighty kick of his leg, the pot and fire went flying.

"What's wrong!?" Nego yelled. Tagu licked up the soup, all while snorting with delight. Nego rubbed the right side of his neck that was covered by the hood; the place where Tagu would go if he was in passive state.

So far, the buffalo hadn't showed any interest to go in to dormant state. It was worrying, but after all they had been through, after everything that had happened after he had summoned Tagu, Nego wasn't too anxious. The scars on his wrist and ankles were a constant reminder, and there was a vicious scar from his left shoulder all the way to his elbow, one that would stay with him forever.

Tagu swallowed the tofu and gave a satisfied sigh before lying on his side and giving out snores that were as loud as a thunder storm. usually, Nego would've been worried that the noise would attract their former captors, but he was too hungry and tired to care, he curled up next to the buffalo, and slept.


	2. Chapter 2

**umm, chapter two is different. I decided to change the past, you can hate me for it but, for those who have just read the story, enjoy chapter two.**

The past was a ghost, Nego knew he could gain nothing from it, but it was wonderful. A whole world away ... Even when the bonding sickness was there, he always had support. The war had been terrible, a large impact on Erdas. Tagu was a peaceful creature, the buffalo refused to fight unless there was no other option.

There had been scary events that happened in Grenhaven. The spirit animal of a younger Greencloak had nearly attacked Tagu down the corridor while Nego was making his way to the dining pavilion. The jaguar was stopped by the girl only because she pulled it's tail.

But still, life was a dream. He was the outsider though, one of those people that you were lucky to see. Good thing they didn't think to look up the rafters. Tagu would be looking at them with a vacant expression and he would be up there.

Nego had never liked attention.

He had been just a normal person, hiding in the woods and working at the local inn, even when the pay was only one coin every week. He would spend most of his time scouring the cobbled streets of Amaya for coins if he wasn't in the woods.

Still, there was always the rubbish heaps, full of leftovers like moldy crusts of bread, bits of discarded meat and the occasional piece of cake. When Tagu came while he was sleeping in the woods on a pile of leaves, he had thought it was a panther. The woods was home to other creatures as well, but he hadn't expected a buffalo taller than him with large horns.

The Greencloaks came, and even when he didn't want to join them, they still let him live in Greenhaven. They all treated him normally, unless you count the fact that they all stared at Tagu.

Nego didn't want a room, Olvan had made an exception. His pack had a bedroll, some dried fruit and meat, an oil lamp with an emergency vial of oil, dried grass for Tagu if he fancied a midnight snack after grazing in the meadow, candles and a huge leather book he had stolen from the library. He was known for carrying a flask at his belt all the time unless he was sleeping.

He lived in the rafters. Any Greencloak out in the night would be surprised to see a dim light coming from the banisters, and a white creature with dangerous horns snoring in the corridor. The banisters up the rafters _were_ very long _and_ very wide.

Instead of fighting with a knife, sword or bow, Nego had chosen an arrow. The arrow was long, and the tip was sharp. The feather at the end was the color of exotic birds in a land that was once erased from the maps.

It was a steriolian arrow.

The wooden part was thicker, and fighting with it was his pleasure. Using an arrow for a melee weapon seemed stupid, because it couldn't do much damage on the battlefield. But Tagu approved, and that made up for being called an "Idiot" behind his back.

Alas, he wanted to explore the unmapped forest, but he promised Olvan and Lenori that he would return. Fate was against him, he had been captured and held prisoner which resulted in a lifelong limp and the scar from a duel with his captors.

Tagu had given up on dormant state after that. Still, Nego could sense Greenhaven. He had spent many days walking in hope to find the castle, and he knew he was getting closer. There was the occasional conquerer camp on the way which he would explode with the help of herbs, pinecones and flint. And not in the fiery way, the explosion would rust their weapons and armor, making it useless. Then, he would steal some of their food before setting fire to it all. They disappeared altogether which was fine with him, but there would still be the sighting of a camp, a person wearing armor with conquerer weapons, so Nego still kept his guard up.

* * *

Tagu woke him up with a loud 'Moo!'. It took him a while to figure out weather it was panicked or a 'Wake up, Lazy!' noise. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, probably neither. There was the smell of food cooking, Grenhaven?

It seemed too good to be true. He used his pack as a sleigh to slide down the mountain.

Just in the distance, there was the misty outline of the magnificent castle. Tagu butted his shoulder with his horns. 'Get on?' he asked. Tagu stamped his hoof, and Nego smiled.

* * *

Riding on a buffalo was an enjoyable experience. It was bumpy, like a horse, but Nego held on to the hairs of Tagu's neck tightly. The sound of Tagu's hooves could be heard against the rough terrain.

But there was a river up ahead, far too wide to jump across.

Tagu steadily continued. Nego's heart pumped. 'Stop!' he wanted to yell, but his voice was gone.

With a mighty jump, Tagu dived into the river, the water was cold. And Nego got soaked through, but he realized they weren't sinking. The river swept over them, and water stung his eyes and nose, but Tagu pushed the water with his legs and they resurfaced for a few moments before going under again. Nego enjoyed it, but the ride had to end. Tagu walked up the shore using a sandbar and shook the water off his coat.

'Tagu, you can run through water?' he asked in a hoarse whisper. Tagu flicked his ear and gave one of his mocking rumbles.


	3. Chapter 3

The wind flew across the green meadow, pulling back the hood of Nego's coat. The scent of wildflowers and the familiar sound of the waterfall made his heart burst with a strange feeling ... Like a blind person seeing the world in color for the first time.

Golden dandelions covered the earth like a golden carpet, soon they would turn into white fluffy balls and spread their seeds. No matter how many times he saw it, Greenhaven castle took his breath away. Tagu gave a joyful snort.

Nego would never get tired of the palace. Charging into the gates, he got off. It was exactly the same; the smooth roughness of the stone floor when his bare feet touched the ground; Tapestries of the Great Beast hanging from the ceiling...

'Nego!' a gruff voice called. The leader of the Greencloaks hadn't changed. Black hair with streaks of grey in it, muscular build, _usually_ merry, brown eyes etc, but there was an unusual darkness hanging around him. In fact, the whole castle seemed to give off the same feeling that he only noticed now.

Before he could ask any questions, Olvan spoke first, 'Nego ... you've changed,' Tagu flicked his ear in agreement. 'I know,' he said quietly; He must have grown several inches taller, his hair was in need of combing and a haircut and he had more scars; 'Follow me to the hall, I think we both have something to tell each other.'

'You mean, Kovo and another Great Beast has been summoned but Zerif, the chicken-brained, sludge-face idiot has found a way to steal a spirit animal and he already stole some?' Tagu rocked his head to one side in a disapproving fashion. 'I'm afraid you're right,' said Olvan.

Nego rubbed the side of his neck nervously, it was a habit. 'Tagu won't go into passive state, I've tried many times, but he rejects it.' Tagu rocked his head again, not in disapproval but in refusal. 'I think he understands something you haven't seen, spirit animals are very intelligent beings. Some are said to be able to see glimpses of the future and special powers are likely too,'

Tagu flicked his ear again. 'Tagu can run through water, we did it across the creek, Sir,' he supplied. Olvan didn't seem surprised. 'There have been many cases like that, but that is new. Clean up, Nego, it has been a long day,' Nego just realized the sun was setting.

After a nice haircut and real shower, Tagu went out in the courtyard to walk in the rain. When he came back in, his coat was wet and it smelled funny but Nego didn't mind.

He exposed the right side of his neck, Tagu looked him in the eye, and it was like staring at royalty itself, it wasn't proud or arrogant but gentle, and maybe a little bit sad. Nego's knees buckled, and darkness surrounded him.


	4. Chapter 4

Just after a few moments of darkness, color and light burst into Nego's vision. The world was sprawled beneath him, Amaya. As he zoomed in, there was a river running through the land. It had been a long time since Amaya had such a river like that one. There were swampy marshlands and a few pitiful creeks - there wasn't a shortage of water; food had been the problem, but still, it was beautiful.

There was something white underneath the water, swimming with the current. Grey fish were following it, sometimes playfully leaping up into the air. Nego followed it and he saw a clearing, surrounded by trees on a wetland. The white thing leaped up on to the muddy ground, it was a white buffalo, bigger than an elephant, bigger than a Great Beast. _Is that, Tagu?_ Nego wondered.

His hooves created round footprints as he walked. The grey fish waited patiently. The land was drier further up. There was a strange company within the circle of trees: A green gecko with red and orange spots with extraordinary big-silver eyes, a large, black bear sitting down on its rump, golden eyes relaxed, a woodpecker with eyes that seemed to change color and a beautiful reindeer with glassy eyes the color of the sky. They were all just as large.

'You're last again, Tagu,' the bear said in a gruff tone. 'That does not matter, Finnwick, we shall begin council,' said the reindeer in a soft,velvety tone. Tagu nodded his head. The woodpecker began first.

'The Evertree was born when time started. We were born before that, Tagu emerged from the sea, I came from the skies, Finnwick came from the Mountains, Lia came from the forests and Iika came from the land which would become a sanctuary for her reindeer to roam wild and free. Millions of years later did time only start, and the Evertree gave birth to the Great Beasts. They gained recognition, humans don't know us, even when we have seen much more. Time brought life and death, we've known immortality, we should be known.'

The gecko, Lia spoke too. 'Akai (A-Kai) is right, the Great Beasts only know the dawn of time, we know before time began. We know deep magic, how the world was created and much more. Yet, recognition can be dangerous.' Finnwick gave a throaty growl. 'There have been some white buffalos around Erdas, yet you refuse to let your kind be summoned as spirit animals. We've all let some of our kind be summoned, why not you?'

Tagu let out a low rumble. Everybody looked at him, Nego realized Tagu rarely spoke at council. 'I will never let my kind into the world, not white buffalos. They can never be summoned, when I die, I will accept fate and see if I will be summoned or live in tranquility, if I am summoned, I will be the only white buffalo. My species should be wild and free, not that I think spirit animals are servants, but the future can be tricky. If white buffalos were summoned, I'm afraid they will loose their free will, and worse, taken away and loosing their will, the future has many surprises. And I've seen more than enough visions and glimpses to know more than Briggan, Mulop or any of them about seeing visions of the future.'

This must have been the longest speech Tagu must have made, because even after he finished, they were all staring at him. Iika than spoke, 'We keep our distance for a good reason, if humans find us, imagine what they will do. We're Watchers, older than time and are more powerful than the Great Beasts. We are different from the Great Beast, not only because we have different powers but because of our origins and nature. Council is raised because we are brought together as one, not for meetings like them. We have them after every new, old and full moon has ended, not only when matters are urgent.'

'Iika is right,' Lia said softly. 'Council brings us together, to remind us we're not alone, that we have each other.' 'We are so much different from the Great Beast. Recognition like Lia said before is dangerous. We are guardians of Erdas, we watch over the Great Bests even when they argue and their disputes are unreasonable,' Iika said, her voice gentle. 'There is a reason why we are not known.'

'We're wild, if humans knew about us...' Finnwick grunted. 'They might want to capture us,' Lia continued. Finnwick took hold of his conversation again, 'They could hang tapestries and banners of us, but like that Dinesh, they might dress you up in silk, worship you and throw feasts in your honor, .' 'Domestication,' Tagu said in a dark voice. Akai hung his head in defeat, he knew the majority of the council was against him.

'I wish you good grazing and plenty of crickets, Lia,' Akai said, before taking off. 'And good hunting,' he directed this to Finnwick. 'Good foraging,' Tagu wished. The giant woodpecker nodded before spreading his wings and disappearing into the sky.

* * *

Tagu was making his way back to the river, Nego sensed he was troubled by the hurried meeting. A trap sprung and another one launched a volley of arrows. Another trap caught his other leg, bringing the buffalo down. His head was partially buried. It happened so fast.

The fish panicked, but they were too far to help. 'My brave subjects,' Tagu rumbled. 'Tell them the Great Protector is dead.' The fish made a glugging sound. 'I promise to return, don't worry. I will find you all again, but the message must be passed.' Tagu was immune to poison, but his flank felt like it was on fire. The wire traps cut into his flesh, and Tagu wondered who would set a trap in a place like this. Whoever it was, they had taken their job seriously.

Another trap was sprung, more than enough arrows were buried in his back. Another sort of pain hit the back of his neck, but Tagu was no longer there. Darkness surrounded him, but the pain in his flank was muted, like it was just a little prick. _Dying isn't so bad,_ Tagu thought, Nego could hear the buffalos thoughts. At last, with a mighty rumble, Tagu closed his eyes.

* * *

The tranquility was broken in a flash of light. Tagu had been shrouded in darkness, and he had made no effort to rouse his mind, but the peace was good. There was a boy, sleeping rather soundly on a pile of leaves in an Amayan forest. _Is that me?_ Nego wondered, that seemed like such a long time ago. The sound of the rivers weren't there, but much had changed since he was gone. Tagu walked towards him, he might as well wake the boy up.

* * *

Nego woke up on the floor, his back feeling like it was on fire, neck stiff and arms sore.


	5. Chapter 5

Nego's back was burning, but he managed to say something without stammering. 'What, were you?' Tagu tilted his head to one side, and a flash of light blinded Nego's vision, and he saw ... a white buffalo calf.

It looked at him, eyes bright and mocking. Nego managed not to run around the castle screaming that his spirit animal had turned into a youngling. 'Tagu?' The buffalo butted his leg and tilted it's head to the rafters. And it dawned on him on what Tagu wanted.

He scooped Tagu with one hand and disappeared in the structure of planks that held up the roof of the wide corridor that would eventually lead to the Hall. Nego set Tagu down and opened his pack.

The leather book.

With shaking hands Nego opened the dusty old book. The pages had brown spots on them, untouched for the last few hundred years, protected under the leather cover that was both smooth and rough with strange symbols on the front. It was a very thick book, and Nego had found it behind a shelf in the library.

Nego had had the book for the longest time, but for once, he saw the symbols on the cover change. The symbols seemed to change, and Nego had a feeling that only he and Tagu could see it. The symbols turned into letters, the letters turned into words, and the words turned into large, black letters emblazoned on the book.

 **The Book of Visions and Glimpses of the Future**

The sun was setting, and Nego lit his oil lamp, he knew he had some reading to do.

* * *

The symbols changed the minute he flipped the page. There were drawing and words scribbled into the book, prophecies, stories of the future, visions and glimpses ... There was so many things. There had been visions of the first and second war, the bile, the evertree, a land underground called Sandre, the Great Beasts ... It turned out to be rare to have a straight forward dream without any riddles, and rarer to see things in the past that no one had actually seen.

'Why did a book so important, never get deciphered before. The summoner of Briggan, Conor maybe some Greencloaks who were gifted in the past?' Nego asked mini Tagu. Tagu flicked his ear and gestured to read on.

There were so many things to read about, it was impossible to get bored.

Nego never had much time to read, but at the inn he worked, the owner had several books.

 _If a spirit animal refuses to go in passive state, it means several meanings. If the summoner has bonding sickness, even after mastering passive state, there may be complications. Other reasons suggest the spirit animal knows something._

 _Strange powers may not mean strange spirit animals. Powers such as changing age, causing a sphere of stillness, making time slow, more than the average speed a spirit animal gives._

 _Age changing can last forever, which would be both good and bad. Age changing is an uncanny ability which can lead to more powers. Weather the animal is older or younger, age changing is nearly extinct, so you don't have to worry your animal will grow really, really old or be as helpless as a newborn baby, probably._

'Tagu, if you are really going to stay small forever, I suppose I can't ride you anymore, but I wonder if, there are more abilities.' Nego closed the book, and realized it was night. He spread his bedroll over the plank of wood and closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Nego woke up due to loud noises, the roaring a of a primate, a paragraph from the book came effortlessly to his mind.

 _I see a gorilla roar at a boy, he is restrained, but dangerous. He draws a doorway, a spiral and some other things in order. I see a boy with a falcon and a girl with a panda look at it with another boy, Niloan perhaps._ _I know something is wrong, related to an evil I cannot yet see. I see a boy with a large wolf, and I know the boy with the wolf is sick. Something that is crawling up his arm to reach somewhere else._ _The panda will help, I know, she already is. The gorilla knows something, he is thinking about ... Sandre and it's people._

It was long, but it had come in a blink of an eye, like his mind had memorized the book in an instant.

Another one came, a different one.

 _I see a boy in a forest, the leaves litter the ground with tufts of grass and twigs. The boy has splinters in his hair, I see his hands are rough with callouses and scars that were small but plentiful from scraping his hands on the branches. He likes climbing, which might explain why the tail of his coat look like they were shredded by cats and bitten by dogs, maybe they were both the reason: climbing, dogs and cats. I see a flash of light, a pure white bull with matching horns, the boy continues sleeping, and a horrible thought strikes me. The bonding sickness._

Nego had had a terrible memory, but how he could memorize paragraphs without even trying was surprising, and a bit scary, but cool. The paragraph sounded like him, it was him, but the part where it ended at the word bonding sickness sounded like a warning.

The roar sounded again, and tiny Tagu woke up. Tagu went under his coat, pressing against his leg making tiny grunting noises. Nego wove through the structure of the rafters. It was second nature.

It only made sense that he instinctively ducked under planks and dodge when birds came spiraling out of nowhere. He had learnt the hard way that when a bird flies at you, don't try to push it aside. The edges of his ears were rough from the clawing of claws or talons and pulling from a sharp beak.

The roaring quieted down, and Nego realized his ears were just ringing, they quivered and shook, like they would dance away. He had a feeling that it was in the past, Nego went to the training room, and unfortunately, there was someone.

A greencloak was teaching a younger recruit, a boy with a fox. Errol. The fox looked towards the rafters, but Nego was well hidden in the shadows.

At that moment, Tagu chose to fall down.


	7. Chapter 7

Tagu fell in the very middle of the room, with a flash, there was the buffalo again, but with a white, shaggier coat. The fox gave a startled sound and ran under the weapon rack. Errol was surprised but un fazed.

'Whose up there?' he said calmly. Nego knew the game wasn't up yet. Tagu racked his head to one side and looked at the younger recruit that was squirming in terror.

They were all scared of Tagu because of his size, they didn't stop to look at his soft brown eyes to see he didn't mean any harm. Nego pulled his hood over his head and soundlessly dropped down. Errol looked at him. 'Your spirit animal?' Nego nodded.

'I've seen you somewhere, Nego? You came here to train with your weapon,' Nodding again. Tagu gave snorted and pawed the ground. The fox had timidly come out from his hiding place.

'I have a larger group coming, so you might as well train here.' Nego wished Errol wouldn't be so ignorant. The way he shuffled his feet and the fact that he was spinning his arrow in an anxious way made it clear he wanted to get out.

'The boy's called Drake, and he was recruited a few weeks ago. Drake, this is Nego, and his buffalo's called Tagu.' The boy looked at him boldly, the look that people gave when they were actually really frightened. 'I summoned Rayon.'

'Isn't that the name of thread or something?' Drake gave him a dirty look. Errol was there to save him. 'Let's get to business while we wait, shall we?' he said.

* * *

Nego knew one thing while in Amaya. You learnt fast, or got picked on. He had learnt how to climb like an expert when he was eight, he learnt how to steal, he learnt how to weasel things out of people without the need of being threatening.

He had perfected his skills of walking by people and listening for news instead of asking. Drake was good, Rayon kept an alert eye while Tagu was watching everything with amusement.

Nego hit the dummy everywhere, the Steriolan arrow was good in combat - strong, light and easy to use. He suspected Tagu was helping, he felt light on his feet and his hands felt free. The arrow was like part of him, twisting, twirling and flying like it had a life of it's own. The group came eventually, two boys, one with an ostrich and another with a frog and a girl with a snake.

Errol looked impressed, and Nego had a terrible feeling when Drake asked when action was going to come instead of fighting passive, wooden, things.

The ostrich (Arun, summoner called Travis) had kicked the dummy so hard that the splinters had gone flying into his hand. Nego didn't say anything, he had gotten used to splinters going into his palm, foot, arm ... The frog (Thelma, summoner called Sean) looked at them with glassy eyes while the snake (Mira, summoner called Penelope) wrapped itself around Penelope's arm gently.

'Well, why don't you practise against each other?' Errol said in a voice that didn't know how bad that idea was.


	8. Chapter 8

Errol gave them a moment with their spirit animals. Tagu shook his shaggy coat and flicked his tail to flick a fly away. All the other animals looked more compliant than Tagu, a _lot_ more complaint. Tagu looked around the room, studying the weapon racks, training scarecrows, Errol, the younger recruits and the spirit animals.

Tagu lowered himself on the ground and looked at him. 'I need your help, to fight, even when you don't want fighting to happen, I need to fight. We do it to protect the defenseless, we need it to protect each other.' Tagu looked at him, eyes giving a strange twinkle.

He took his coat off, and prepared himself to fight. Drake gave him a dirty look. 'Travis, you fight with Penelope. Nego, you fight with Drake. Ready, yes, good.' Errol gave a piercing whistle, and it began.

Rayon flew at Tagu, who until now had been lying down on the floor like a white, fluffy rug. Drake swung his sword at Nego's head, and he deflected it easily. Tagu reared himself on his hind legs, a foreboding sight that made most people cower in fear, except Nego was thinking, _'Don't look into his eyes, don't.'_ Tagu was a peaceful creature, intimidation was his best shot.

The buffalo was docile, a slow but sturdy creature. When he reared on his hind legs, it meant that the buffalo was trying to scare away its attacker. Nego knew the buffalo wouldn't attack.

Drake charged at Tagu, but Nego tripped him up. Rayon came barking at him, pinning him down and flying at his face. Tagu charged, but Drake knew about Tagu enough to charge too. Nego tried to throw the fox off, but it clung on stubbornly.

He didn't feel anything coming yet, but his hands tingled. The arrow felt smooth, the fox scratched at his chest. Errol yelled something, maybe to tell Drake to call Rayon off. Tagu was busy with the foxes summoner.

Drake was trying to cut Tagu, but the buffalo was a blur, which was surprising, even when galloping, the buffalo travelled at a leisurely pace. Rayon jumped off his chest, and Nego felt the world dim.


	9. Chapter 9

Nego hated other people helping him, he was perfectly fine, except for the fact his chest was bleeding. 'How did you get so many scratches?' the healer muttered. 'The grinded blackberry leaf is over there, you just grabbed blueberry leaves,' Nego said patiently.

He had blacked out, but he was fine. Tagu shook his head and snorted. 'I expected a lot more help, Tagu,' he said. 'Stay still, boy,' the healer commanded as she applied bandages with orange paste stuck underneath.

It felt warm on his chest. Tagu let the healers spirit animal, a red panda climb onto his head like a moving-red hat. 'You need to stay in the infirmary for two days at most,' she said. 'Two days!' Nego protested. Tagu let out a mocking rumble. 'Don't laugh, it's not like we were both fighting as hard as we could. Drake's probably laughing his head off,'

The healer left gradually, leaving Nego alone on the bed. Tagu put his head on his lap, which Nego liked. As he sank his head into the pillow, Nego took the book out and started reading.

 _I know something is coming, I hear a loud sound in my ears. I hear the roar of an animal fighting, I feel uncontainable power and I hear it closing, something being captured, and my vision ends. As I write this down, I would like to share with you the peaceful feeling of sunlight warming your face and the sound of wind chimes in the background. The walls of your own bamboo hut surrounding you with the flat roof you made out of wood and sitting on the smooth dirt ground at your bamboo table. The wind carries the smell of your dinner cooking outside in a pot over a fire. I am not alone, I have my faithful companion, a small white horse with brown and black patches over its body, you can never feel lonely with Yilin around._

'Sounds nice,' Nego muttered. He wished for a home like that, maybe he already was home in Greenhaven castle. He had taken the oath not long after returning, he wore it underneath his coat, it showed whenever he took it off.

When the wind blowed, the coat and cloak would fly in the wind, except the coat was in his pack. He had been surprised by how soft the green fabric was underneath his finger tips.

Tagu had fallen asleep, on the floor, close to the bed. Nego looked at the sunset through the window, it was beautiful.

Nego knew something was going to happen.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everybody whose following or reading this random thing you stumbled over on the internet! So, the reviews have gone up (awesome!) I do however need to know what you guys want because I want to make you guys happy. So, I need to know. Is it because there is no romance?! Do I need to add the four fallen, am I dragging this out way too long and you guys want action!? Am I leaving something out!? Is this boring!? Or either you guys think the title and summary are corny?! Tell me what to do, please! PM me or leave a review, I want to do what will be able to entertain you fanfictioners and my one but best follower, the great Megaspark8, the person who added me in their favourites, TheTombedSpirit and the awesome Guests who reviewed me. Thanks a lot!**

The night was dark, it was terrifying, but Nego hid under cover in the tall grass. He knew something was going to happen, also, he had disobeyed orders and snuck out of the castle when the healer had gone out.

Of course he had packed, he had poured a packet of zhongnese blast powder in a bowl, added some water, rolled some pinecones in the mixture and set them in the sun to dry. They had made effective sabotage weapons in the older days when there were still conquerors. They were small and easy to carry.

The pouch hung from his belt along with a pouch of darts and his arrow. Nego's russack was light but well stocked. He had herbs and leaves with plenty of travel food like dried meat and fruit. Nego had an extra flask of water besides the one hanging from his belt. He had packed a ceramic vial of the orange paste and some more bandages but unfourtunately, he had to leave the book, oil lamp and extra vial of oil above the rafters.

At least he could pack the box of matches. His chest burned, but he didn't have time to be worried about that now. His grey coat was in his russack, neatly folded. The cloak did help him blend into the surroundings, even Tagu's white coat was barely visible in the dark.

Tagu tilted his head to the sky, brown eyes reflecting the stars, like the sky was in his eyes. Nego knew where he needed to go. He walked silently towards the sea. Tagu followed him. Fearlessly, Nego stepped into the water. His provisions might get wet, he would get wet, but still, he went further into the sea.

When he was completely under, Tagu was there. Nego realised an air bubble had formed around them. Instinctively, Nego clutched onto Tagu's neck. He buried his face into his coat. It was like a fluffy-underwater pillow

He used his knees to hold on, and Tagu swam towards the surface and started running. They were closer, so much closer. Water flew on either side of them, and the feeling ... was peaceful.

Nego fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

They were in an Amayan port in a small city of that was far away from Greenhaven where Nego relised he had actually left the coat on his bedroll in the rafters with a helpful vision with Tagu that left his legs feeling like wheat stalks and sore arms that hurt whenever he moved them. Wherever this was, it was freezing.

Nego used up his extra flask for Tagu who was thirsty after the long swim Nego let the half-empty flask and the other one hang from his belt after stuffing his other supplies into pouches.

The arrow was at his side, wooden shaft so much thicker-coated in a sticky type of glue to prevent it from breaking in combat, four arrows at the end dotted with black spots and red at the tips and edges. The head was as sharp as knives. It wasn't made for archery but melee combat, even if it wasn't the best weapon, it would never serve in archery, and that was why Nego had chosen it.

The alleyways were the best. In concobara, alleyways was where theft increased, but to him, it was where the chances of finding a half-eaten fish or some not-yet-rotten bits of meat - anything more substantial than a piece of mouldy bread were increased by tenfold.

He had a talent for alleyways. Nego could navigate a new alleyway with his eyes closed. His bare feet were cold on the ground that always seemed wet. Clothes dripped water on the ground that were trying to dry in a place that never got any light.

Th smell of something really bad cooking wasn't new. It still smelled of garbage and grime. Nego's cloak covered the arrow, and he hugged it thighter against himself while pulling the hood of it so low it nearly covered his eyes. Even than, his eyes hurt, and his ears were cold even when it was covered by the thick fabric.

The vision had drained him so much, Nego really wanted to rest. The soreness in his arms were worse than he thought they were and his chest was aching, but his legs didn't feel as weak.

Tagu sniffed the air, and sneezed. A rat crawled out of the alleyway, sniffing at the garbage. That was a common sight, but the rats eyes were dark red. Nego knew what it was.

It was another spirit animal.

It could be a Greencloak, it could be an enemy, it could be good, and it could be bad - it could even belong to a street kid. A man with a shaved head with skin that the sun had beaten down on and a brown jacket that was neatly-buttoned looked at him.

'Vutolon, a Greencloak!' The rat's eyes went cloudy for a second, and the man blinked. 'I see. Gutter rat, you got injured on your chest by a fox a few days ago,' Nego blinked too. 'Yes, I know everything about my opponent: bonding sickness, orphan, Spirit animals refusal to go into passive mode etc. Yet, I can never look directly into a spirit animal, pity. Still, I know you don't want to fight. You would've pulled out your arrow by know, such a foolish thing to choose. But, people don't really attack me first. I mean, I don't kill, I import people to a little place where I get good money,'

Nego's hand shook over his arrow. 'Your buffalo is small, it doesn't reach my shoulder, but it has more muscle than others, with a furrier coat like a yak, but I have a rat, so it's not my right to talk about size. Still, kid, formidable spirit animal, but it can't do real damage, those horns are a bit blunt.'

Vutolon, the rat, attacked Tagu, the small but intimidating white buffalo. Nego pulled his arrow out to clash with a sword 'I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Okatia. Names are sacred, like a spirit animal. I can't look into it, but than, I'm not the one who will be dealing with you in the long run.'

As Nego spun his arrow, moving around Okatia, Tagu was panicking. The rat was running all over the place, making Tagu's vision a blur trying to keep track of the rat. Nego knew that strategy all too well, but Otakia knew his past, everything he knew.

Vutolon had Tagu on the ground, just for a few heartbeats, and Nego risked a look but it was enough for Otakia. He kicked him to the ground and tied Tagu's legs together. Nego got up, but the rat flew, and he shielded his face. Otakia threw a glass vial at his chest, something purple soaking his shirt before turning transparent and his shirt turning dry like it had never been there.

His chest exploded in pain like never before. The glass shards were stuck in the wounds that Rayon had made, but the liquid was doing something else. Making pain so intense, that he collapsed into a heap on the ground. The damp ground was cold against his head, the ground was gross, and murk pressed into his hair.

Nego curled up into a ball, and before darkness overtook him, before the alleyway disappeared, the sound of Tagu bellowing in the background felt sharp in his ears.

* * *

When Nego woke up, he was in the basement of a ship. There were wooden crates surrounding him, and he couldn't sense Tagu. There were sounds of blurry activity above him, and his ears felt fuzzy. Also, he felt like his insides were freezing.

His chest still hurt, his neck felt stiff and Nego knew he was far, far away from Amayan soil. 'All because of one fox, I get into a load of trouble.' Without Tagu, he felt ... broken. Like he wasn't being held together.

The wounds were purple at the sides, the glass shards were still embedded in them and his possessions were gone. Nego cursed even more. He had a headache and he was parched in desperate need of water.

Nego got up weakly, but his legs buckled underneath him. The ship accelerated, and the cargo went sliding into him. Nego groaned.

He felt helpless, at the mercy of someone else, and he didn't like it. The ship stopped suddenly, and a horn sounded.

Nego had a bad feeling where he was.


	12. Chapter 12

Nego didn't want to stay doormat. Chest heaving, vision spinning and head pounding, he forced himself on his feet and closed his eyes. _The ocean is your friend, do not think it will not help you. It is proud, my Seeker, to be part of you. It is there to help you._

The voice sounded like, someone he knew. It was sweet, soft and velvety. He had no time to think about it. In an instant, he knew where he wanted to go. Eyes still closed, legs unsteady, Nego slowly made his way across the cargo.

There was a sack that was filled with his possessions, and he quickly armed himself, despite the fact that he was in no condition to do so. After taking a drink of water, clasping the cloak over his shoulders and pulling the hood over his dull, brown hair that was messy and unkempt, he waited for the trapdoor to open.

Otakia came down, where he used his remaining power to bash him to the ground. 'Boy!' Nego dashed across the deck, but his legs buckled underneath him, making him skid across the deck, grazing his knees and elbows.

Couldn't stop now, he could smell the scent of Tagu - damp fur, salt and seaweed. Nego ran across the deck, jumping over wooden crates and surprised sailors. Instinctively, he grabbed the rope on the certain crate and grabbed a handful of herbs and pinecones, clenched it together and threw them on it.

It exploded in a white explosion, instantly soaking the wood and Nego kicked it, and Tagu jumped out. Nego had used up his strength, he clambered on Tagu, closed his eyes and clutched on the thick fur on his neck.

Before darkness took over, Nego saw Tagu jump from the ship into the ocean.

* * *

Nego didn't want to have another vision, he was already weak from the other one. Still, colour sprawled into his vision. Zerif sludge-face with the heart of a chicken wore several tattoos on his chest.

 _The Great Beast are being stolen._ Nego thought to himself.

It changed, and he saw the Watchers of Erdas - Iika, Finnwick, Akai and Lia. 'Tagu's gone, so many years and, I admit, sometimes I still get algae for him, only to find out he's not there.' Finnwick said, his eyes full of sadness.

Akai preened his feathers and sighed. They were in a coastal area, a waterfall next to them. 'The evil has come, Iika.' Lia said sadly.

'Tagu dies, Nilo gets no rain, Great Beasts are stolen, the Evertree dying, the wrym is awakening ... We can't do anything, but watch. Tagu died by the hands of Dious. Another force is awakening too, but I'm not a seer, not like Tagu, but I sense these things the most,' Iika said.

Akai let out a piercing cry that sounded through the forest, bending the trees and his eyes were sad. 'I miss him too, we would meet each other by the Hundred-isles, let him make break coconuts and we would have a nice conversation about how the sky meets the sea.'

Lia looked forlorn. 'Always saying size doesn't matter, he was always on the small side of everything.' 'When the old moon rises I'm the sky, I think about him. Tonight, the sky will rain fire and the trees shall sway, the waves roar with wind, the Artic sky will dance, the mountains will rumble and the earth will remember him,' Iika said.

'We all will,' Lia said, her silver eyes shimmering. 'The Great Beasts will wonder why, but they know it is important.'

Nego saw exactly what Iika said would happen. The sky streaked with fire, the array of colours in the harsh winter skies, the trees dancing, the wind and sea making a rhythm of sadness and mourning.

* * *

Tagu had decided to make camp at a desolated island. The buffalo was chewing the leaves that had fallen on the ground.

Nego made use of the time, despite the fact that he didn't know where he was, that he couldn't see straight, his hearing was partially gone, his spindly fingers were numb and he had poison in his chest to worry about.

'Stupid fox,' he cursed. Tagu gave a warning grunt. Lately, the buffalo made it his task whenever he cursed, it happened a lot during their last adventure when the conquerors were around.

While Tagu majestically chewed on the leaves of a coconut tree, he scavenged for anything that might be useful. It was too dark to navigate the forest at the back of them, but there were still many useful things.

Nego used what he had to make a simple meal of mushrooms roasted over a fire on a stick and dried fruit. Tagu curled up next to him and as Nego put out the fire and cleaned up, he wondered what would happen to him.

* * *

Tagu gave Nego a wet lick on his face. 'The sun's not up, Tagu. What's wrong?' he groaned. Tagu lifted him up with his horns and and marched off into the forest.

Sliding onto the Tagu's fluffy back, Nego rubbed his eyes, shook the sand out of his hair and chewed on dried meat. Nego didn't ask where they were going, he knew that Tagu was right. The buffalo insisted on that.

* * *

Tagu was so short, they could pass underneath the low-hanging branches of the forest without the need if getting off. Still, even while walking, Nego could feel the muscles rippling underneath Tagu's fur, like the buffalo was too bulky for his own body.

Strength wasn't everything. Nego busied himself with smacking the mosquitos that would fly near him. Tagu trekked on, slow and steady.

He had gotten used to the buffalo running through water, except Tagu didn't put the air bubble around them. The water didn't spoil the herbs and he had finished his traveling food already.

The water dried quickly, but only because it got colder further up. Tagu climbed up a mountain, and Nego clutched the fur around Tagu's neck a little tighter.

It got much colder half-way around the it, but Tagu stopped, rumbled, shook his head, and walked slowly into a cave with ivy hanging over the entrance. Nego got off, the space in the cave was huge.

There was enough space for Tagu to invite a few of his other wild, bigger relatives and have a party. There were three-flat rocks, jutting out from the wall of the cave, like a built-in shelf.

Water burst out from between two rocks near the cave. Falling down the mountain, was a magnificent waterfall. Gears spun in Nego's head, puzzle pieces being fitted together. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

Nego spent the whole day working on the cave. He collected firewood, found herbs that he used all the time, found nuts and berries and clay. Otakia would be finding him, the group he was going to be imported to might be searching for him.

It was late afternoon when Nego stumbled over the bear carcass. It had claw marks all over it. A fight for territory and food. The flies flew away and Tagu licked it's wounds. 'Well, we can still make it useful, even in death.'

It was late afternoon when Nego skinned the bear, got rid of the smell, buried it and got his own hands clean. The fur would prove to be useful if it ever got cold. Greenhaven had his bedroll, coat, the leather book and other supplies, if he could, he would try to return, but he knew for now, he had to stay hidden.

Tagu made himself comfortable in the corner. The wind howled outside, and the ivy curtains danced. Nego set out the bear meat to dry after eating mushrooms and berries.

The view from the entrance was amazing, even when it was behind a curtain of ivy: A valley of wildflowers, the stream from the waterfall, the tall trees swaying in the wind. Suddenly, on another island in the distance, Nego could clearly see a campfire.

Nego realised Tagu was looking at it too. 'Come on, I think we should check it out,' Nego swung himself on to Tagu's back, and they took off.


	13. Chapter 13

Tagu didn't bother to make an air bubble, but Nego was used to it. He liked getting wet anyway. The cold wind froze his fingers and his cloak threatened fly away into the sky. Tagu pressed against him, as if sensing he needed warmth.

Using the rock for cover, Nego saw people in armor sitting around a campfire eating bits of meat with their fingers. 'Dious sends us to look for a boy. Otakia said he's a Greencloak,' said one female. 'Brown hair, lean frame, strange brown eyes, he even said the boy has thin fingers that would be useful for making traps, he also mentioned the boy has the bonding sickness. Someone who can escape with poisoned chest wounds is someone worth finding. Determination is a worthy weapon'

At the mention of those words, Nego felt his chest ache. He had taken out the glass shards which caused bleeding, even with bandages over them, he worried about the poison. There were sounds of contented munching after that speech.

'The bonding sickness … the Greencloaks are slow when an orphan is turning eleven,' said a gruff voice. 'Horrible tales, mood swings for example. Some get fever, others have bonding troubles, even headaches.' Tagu flicked his ear and pressed his bulk against Nego even more.

Nego made the arrow twirl in his hands. The Silverwood sap coating the shaft felt cool against his fingers. They talked somemore, and Nego used his hands to try and warm his ears. He learnt that Dious was some evil person who was at war with the People of the Shadows.

Some were Greencloaks, others wore black clothing and they were a small group thay lead raids and ambushes against them. Dious had named his group the Meridious. That meant 'Evil dangers' in the ancient Niloan language.

'No prisoners, nothing. The shadow people are too stealthy, like the boy we're trying to catch. Like whispers of the shadows.' The people nodded and mumbled amongst themselves. Nego inhaled the salty air, gently took Tagu's muzzle in his hands and closed his eyes. Something sparked in his fingertips, nothing that made him feel more aggressive, nothing that made him feel strong, but he could feel something in him.

Taking his arrow in his hand, Nego took a deep breath and charged. The group of Meridious's were startled. Nego kicked one in the chest and with the end of his arrow, delivered a blow to one's nose. Tagu wove through the path of enemies, which made Nego's heart swell with pride.

Clenching pinecones together and throwing them, their weapons weren't affected, the pinecones took a few hours at least to make a piece of armor or weapon rust a little. It was irreversible but it took two days, to make it officially useless.

Dodging and twisting, Nego found a steady rhythm. The green fabric around his shoulders glittered in the night, like filaments of silver were woven in them. The scratches on his arrow glowed softly, before Nego realized they were symbols, symbols that changed into words like the book, they read _the silver warrior._

Tagu carried a silver aura himself, making the Meridious's sleepy and stumbling. Something flew in the air and pinned him down. A black cat barring its teeth. Positioning itself, it swiftly dug its claws underneath his right eye, digging it deeper until its claws were completely buried and jerking its paw upwards before darting away.

Nego let out a cry so guttural it stunned everybody on the battlefield. Nego got onto his hands and let out all his rage. He was a demon. Pain and anger fueled him. He never killed, just wounded. They all ran away, and Nego leaned on Tagu who arrived just in time to catch him.

* * *

Tagu carried him back to the cave, gently using his horns to lay Nego down on the bearskin. Tagu took the herbs from the top shelf, gently holding them with his soft lips. Tagu licked the wound from the cat and chewed the selected herbs he lay on the ground before placing them gently on the cut.

'The silver warrior, what does that mean?' he asked softly. Tagu licked the herbs away and looked at him, his eyes had stopped changing color (they were brown) but Nego thought the buffalo's eyes were special. The same voice whispered to him,

 _Rest, seeker, you have to hide. Those who want power will haunt you by all means. Because of who you are, you have to stay hidden. I promise one day, you will fight, and be who you are._

The wind entered the cave, but instead of the cold sting of it outside, it was a warm summer breeze. Tagu cleverly arranged the herbs back to their original place and looked at him. The buffalo lay down next to him and sighed as the breeze warmed the cave.

As the pain subsided, Nego closed his eyes.

* * *

The morning started when he heard the sound of silent footsteps, the crackling of twigs, rustling of leaves, the echo of bare feet on the branches. Nego silently got up, Tagu's ears were twitching. _They are not close, you need to treat the cuts on your chest,_ Tagu's expression was firm.

As quickly as he could, Nego tried to find something that would help.

Top shelf : herbs, a vial of Silverwood sap, dried bear meat, nuts and berries.

Lower shelf : Rocks, bits of wood, a bundle of blast powder, special stone bowl and tools.

Lowest shelf: Clay cups and clay bowls.

Gears moved, spider webs formed in his head as the wildest idea came to him. Hands moving with a determined mind, he grabbed the stone bowl, Silverwood sap, a few leaves from the selection of herbs and roots. He put it on the weird stone that gave convenient heat.

Nego blew on it and it steamed. The heat dissolved the herbs and made thick, silver liquid, barely enough. As soon as it cooled down, he took the little liquid at the bottom and took off the old bandages. With a fresh roll of bandages, he soaked it up.

The heat burned his fingers, but he fearlessly put in on his chest. The bandages stuck, and it felt like fire had turned cold, had been melted down and put in his chest. Tagu nodded in approval and finally let him watch.

In the thick canopy of the forest, barely noticeable, figures were moving, rustling the leaves and moving towards them.


	14. Chapter 14

**This is short, but I hope you all like it!**

A spear flew out one of the tallest trees in the forest and buried itself in the floor of the cave. 'I don't think so,' Nego hissed. They were the People of the Shadows. Shadow for short form, but Nego didn't know if he could trust them. Not yet. Tagu jumped on the rope, and became one of the most graceful hoof-dancers in the whole of Erdas, dancing on rope.

Nego himself jumped on Tagu's back, and pulled back the feathers of Yarrow (the arrows name _is_ Yarrow, not a mistake). The red edges of the feather gleamed in light of dawn, and the black spots looked like a warning.

Yarrow folded back its feathers, the shaft grew in length and the symbols shifted underneath Nego's fingers. 'One shot, one kill,' Nego whispered before throwing it. That phrase wasn't exactly a very peaceful thing to say and Tagu flicked his ear and rumbled. 'Sorry.'

The arrow sailed through the air, and as Nego leaped off Tagu and swung himself on a branch in, Yarrow landed a few inches away from his hand. People were dressed in black, some with green cloaks, and

Nego grabbed Yarrow and looked at Tagu jumping off the rope and landing next to him. Tagu gave him a wet lick, making his hair stick up in the air. Yarrow was a javelin, the feathers bunched up together at the end and went inside the shaft. 'Well, transformation fully activated.'

Tagu looked at him, than Yarrow. Eyes full of trust, and something else … an understanding. In a flash of light, Tagu became the mark on the right side of his neck – a white buffalo with its upper-half ducked down. Nego rubbed at it, he had often rubbed at the bare spot, sometimes out of anxiety, mostly out of worry, but for now, he could think later. 'Going in passive during battle, I suppose it is dangerous,' Nego muttered to himself.

'Selur ni Yezlih!' Someone yelled. Nego understood that phrase, _Selur ni Yezlih, Selur ni Yezlih,_ Instinctively, he yelled something back 'Yezlih llits sevil!'

Nego ran across the branch as a Shadow landed on it. A monkey flew at his head and made him loose his balance. Nego felt the impact as he hit the branch below face first with a loud thud. (Branches in the forest were very old, hence the broadness and admirable sturdiness.) The monkey disappeared above the canopy.

The Shadow approached him and put a heavy foot on his back. Nego fumbled with the shaft of Yarrow, and a Shadow took it away. 'We mean no harm, Warrior. Your skill is one that an older Grencloak would envy. Warrior of Peace, Yezlih has seen visions about you.' 

**Awesome, anyway, this is the dictionary of the italic words above (Yezlih is just Hilzey spelled backwards, my username!):**

 **Selur ni Yezlih : Hilzey in rules (Because Selur Yezlih would be too short)**

 **Yezlih llits sevil: Hilzey still lives**

 **Also, Yezlih is a person (Spirit animal of hers will be my decision, because after all, she is me!)**

 **Leave a review, please follow or favorite this fanfic and if you're a guest you can just leave a review. Peace!**


	15. Chapter 15

Nego looked at the way the people donned in green-colored coats over their black clothing moved through the branches with ease. The person (Saem) moving next to him looked at his footing and then looked at the mark on his neck. 'The watchers still look over us, she's our leader.' 'You … you know about them?'

Saem paused for a while. 'From the tales of lands far away and of the ancient continents, yes. Our leader has dreams.' Nego pondered this and a thought struck him. 'She has been in a prophecy before, I read about it.' 'I'm not surprised. She deserves it.'

'You mean, Yezlih?' 'No, Hilzey or Hazel, whatever you want to call her,' he replied. 'Wait,' Nego said slowly. 'Than why call her Yezlih?' Saem gave him such an absurd stare that Nego became uncomfortable.

'She has the bonding sickness, warrior. Much worse than yours. We seldom call her Yezlih, it is her more regal name. She fought in the second war. She is a seer, a healer and prefers peace. Her visions are more powerful than Mulop or Briggan when they were in their time. She nearly died, and her thanks goes unnoticed. She did much more than just fight the soldiers of Gerethons army.'

Nego fiddled with the clasp around his shoulders. 'What do I call her?' he asked as they continued threading lightly across the canopy. 'We call her Hazel,' Saem said after a while. Nego released Tagu from passive state. The buffalo sniffed the air and waggled his ears. He seemed to know where they were going. 'What spirit animal does Hazel have?'

As if wondering to tell him, and thinking he talked too much, Saem gave him a strange look. 'That, you need to find out yourself.' Nego amused himself by thinking what their leader had. A tiger, maybe a horse or a bear. Tagu stepped across the branches like it was his second home.

They walked for ages and Nego felt his legs burn more. But as they walked, the terrain eventually changed. From the forest to mountains where the temperature dropped a bit more and the dusty valley with smooth rocks stood up to nine feet tall.

The dusty valley turned to black earth with rocks and vines that glowed with a bluish-white aura. White flowers glowed softly and dandelions spread their white, fluffy seeds in the air. Ancient trees with white a white trunk and blue leaves loomed over them while tiny blue flowers glowed, and a small spring trickled water into a little rock pool. There were rocks that glowed in the dark as night fell.

Nego knew immediately that was their base. It was the center of the blue and white forest and everything around it. There was a big, round stone table in the heart of the surrounding rocks. Rough and smooth steps were carved in the stones. There were smaller wooden tables around the stone one, and there were Shadows setting out stone bowls and plates with chopsticks and spoons made out of bamboo.

Hazel wasn't hard to find. She was just a few months younger than him. She wore a white cloak with streaks of dust and dirt on it and camouflage pants, the one that the militaries of Eura wore to blend in with the forest. Her shirt was black, the same color as her short hair that was tucked behind her ears. Her skin was tanned, like she spent the days out in the sun.

When she looked at him, her brown eyes flashed, like she was judging whether he was an enemy or someone to kill. It sent an inevitable shiver down his spine. She held a javelin in one hand and Nego's legs shook a little as he walked up the stone steps. Saem said she preferred peace, but he found that a bit hard to believe, and where was her spirit animal? He leaned on Tagu for comfort, and the buffalo rumbled in response.

Hazel addressed Saem. 'Wash up at the river, you all must be tired, and dinner will start soon.' The group of Shadows departed. She looked at him, than looked at Tagu. 'Well, you are the one I saw,' she said breezily. The minute she said that, Nego relaxed and exhaled. He didn't even know he was holding his breath.

 _She would look nice if she smiled_ , he thought. Her hand was tight on her javelin, and he still didn't know if a tiger would come running out of the shadows to pounce on him.

As if sensing his thoughts, she flicked her hand. 'No, no. I don't have a bear, leopard or horse and I certainly don't have a bird of prey. Matrika is very gentle. She's a primate.'

A small monkey appeared on her shoulder with curious, brown eyes. It was white with a black face, hands and feet with a black stripe that ran down the middle of her back. It looked at him and pulled itself up. Matrika gripped Hazel's shoulder tightly and curled her long tail. Nego felt silly for being scared. Her spirit animal was cute.

Then she jumped down and disappeared under Hazel's cloak. 'She's shy, not scared,' Hazel said. She looked at the tip of her javelin as Matrika decided to climb up her outstretched arm. 'Well, the food's cooking. There's rice, soup, deer and wild boar cooking, unless you prefer tofu. Not that I'm vegetarian.' Nego sniffed the air, there was a smell of meat cooking and his stomach growled.

'I'll try a bit of everything,' he said.

Nego sat at the stone table with Hazel and some other Shadows. They put rice and some type of salty soup in two separate bowls and platters of meat and tofu were set on the tables. Tagu was given seaweed with algae. 'Very few of the Shadows were Greencloaks before joining us. We have a small non-poisonous snake, a caracal, a dog, a lark and there's Matrika' Hazel explained when he asked about the Greencloaks Dious was talking about.

'The Meridious have much bigger army than us. Bigger than the conqueror's,' she said as she handed Matrika a walnut, and her voice was deadly serious. Nego chewed on some wild boar as Tagu slurped up his seaweed and sighed happily.

Nego looked at the contents of his clay cup. The liquid was white. 'What is this liquid, exactly?' he asked Hazel. She swallowed her mouthful of Tofu and soup before answering, 'It's goat milk.' Nego wanted to die of embarrassment. Tagu snorted. Nego took a sip. It tasted was thicker, and it was sweet.

Matrika held her clay cup with surprising resemblance to a human. Honestly, he didn't know how a monkey could offer anything _actually_ useful to the battlefield. Agility maybe, and speed, but battle was all about fighting the heavily armed warriors with heavy but effective swords that could break through even the toughest shield.

A fast, agile warrior would probably die trying to pierce through their armor in small jabs that would only scratch their armor. Except he was fast and agile too, and he would die, except for his talent in throwing arrows, spears, knives, darts … anything, really. He had seen the armor the Meridious had worn. Made for slow but effective combat.

As the food was finishing, Hazel made a speech, and silence fell over the forest with the sound of leaves gently blowing in the wind, crickets chirping and the sound of the spring. 'We have an honored guest today, Nego summoner of Tagu, the silver warrior.' The shadows raised their cups silently.

'And I dare to ask him, if he would join us as an honored warrior.' Tagu looked at Nego, and Nego looked at Tagu. The shadows were brave, stealthy warriors, at the moment, he knew he belonged here. 'I do,' he said boldly.

Hazel stood up, and Nego felt the cushion he was sitting on rub against his trouser leg as he got into a kneeling position. 'Than, do you promise to help fend off any bad army that poses a threat to Erdas and remain loyal as long as the Meridious remain?' 'Yes,' Nego said.

'Than I Yezlih, Hazel and Hilzey, make you a warrior,' she said. Like magic, the blue and white flowers bloomed and the forest glowed a little brighter. The shadows drank from their cups. Nego felt his heart swell with pride. Tagu gave him another one of those sopping wet licks which made his hair stand up funny.

The cutlery was cleared and the tables were put away, apart from the stone one which would forever be rooted to its spot. The shadows put their bedrolls on the floor, apart from Hazel, who had a cave for herself, being the leader and all. A few shadows took the first watch and Nego wriggled his fingers under Tagu's shaggy fur.

Hazel's cave had white curtains covering the entrance, and there was her own private and much smaller spring with herbs and vials of her own. Nego would've loved to peek in and see what she had, but that would be a very bad thing to do.

He was part of the People of the Shadows. The stars twinkled at him, and he closed his eyes. Tagu was so very snuggly.


	16. Chapter 16

The sun still wasn't out when Nego woke up. Tagu opened one eye and gave a look of pleading to go into passive state. 'You never wanted to go in, yet, you want to go in all the time just about.' Tagu lifted his head up and pointed to one direction. In the distance of the forest, there was the unmistakable outline of Hazel. Matrika was perched on her shoulder.

It was very early in the morning, and the sky was still dark. Tagu disappeared in a flash of soft light. The blue and white forest glowed warningly, but Nego tried not to pay too much attention to it. He followed her, the black earth was smooth and rough against the soles of his feet. She disappeared out of sight, and Nego made haste to try and catch up.

He didn't know why he thought he should follow her. He walked deeper into the forest, and there was still no sight of her. 'Why are you following me?' said a breezy voice.

Nego tilted his head towards the trees. Hazel was there, she wasn't wearing her white cloak but her shirt had changed to a dark blue that seemed to illuminate the light of the forest. She wasn't smiling, but her eyes seemed to look sadly at him.

'Umm, you see … you know … uh …' he wanted to kick himself. He wasn't tongue-tied, he was sure he could speak normally. With the look of effortlessness, she jumped down from the canopy and gave him an amused look.

Every time Nego looked in her eyes, a tremor would go down his spine. They had fire, pain, war and chaos in them, which looked similar to Kovo's. Yet, the image of the large, monstrous silverback gorilla that might or might not be good didn't seem to fit her.

Matrika pulled on Hazel's trouser leg. Her Euran military pants were faded, and it looked like it had a story to tell, a story of war. 'Did you have any dreams?' she asked. Nego was startled by the question, but he shook his head.

Hazel looked at the point of her javelin as it retracted into its shaft. Nego looked at on wordlessly as she drew swirling patterns in the dark earth. 'I saw the Meridious's army, thousands and thousands, maybe even millions. I saw death, the people I can't save. My family, Nego, their lost. I don't know where they are. Their alive, and I saw them, somewhere in the other territories of Erdas. Somewhere … I don't know.'

Her voice cracked a little at the last sentence. Nego really wondered if it was worse to have your family somewhere you didn't know than to never know your parents at all. The feeling of your family somewhere you couldn't find them. That was harsh.

Her javelin moved through the earth as she continued talking, 'my bonding sickness ... When I got it, I searched every book I could get my hands on.' Hazel rubbed the back of her hand with old and new bite marks. All probably from Matrika.

'I suffer on the inside. How would you live, Nego, knowing that your family is somewhere on the face of Erdas, but you might never see them, that your whole family might die, longing for a daughter who will never come?' She stopped drawing, and looked at the patterns of swirls and symbols that blended with each other perfectly, like it was effortless.

'The dark forest, the trees have been watered by the blood of the countless of soldiers that have fallen there. War rages there, and it is where the Meridious stay. That place is so evil, it only believes in war. War is its life, and dark wood is my weakness.' Matrika chittered and hugged her leg.

'A dark black sword with a leather grip hilt is Dious's signature weapon. Dark wood isn't normal. It can be forged into a weapon, that weapon was forged with evil minds and dark souls who died for the sake of a sword of pure war and fire humanity had seen on Erdas. It was forged with the blood of Gerethon after the second war, they called it out of the earth and cooled it with hatred itself. The only sword of its kind, I nearly died.'

Hazel lifted up the sleeve of her shirt and revealed the mark of a sword. It was black with white mingled together. The scar wasn't like anything Nego had seen before. 'My point is, no matter what I do, I can't fight in the Dark Forest. I can't do anything when the Meridious get stronger. I don't dare to send any Shadows, because I want to be with my army when we fight for a better cause. I will try to make peace in the end,' she said sadly.

Nego knew that peace would never work with the Meridious, and Hazel knew that too. 'I can tell you many things, Silver Warrior.' Nego was surprised. The shadows knew he was a warrior, but he had never told anyone what the symbols of the arrow meant.

Hazel stared into the fading stars. 'You're so quiet,' she said softly. Nego looked into her brown eyes. A shiver travelled down his spine again, he was still scared of her. 'Why can't you, I don't know, maybe get the forest to help you?' Nego asked (squeaked was more like it).

'The hardest power most warriors fail to master, is the power of yielding. I already have great power, but I do not dare to use it. I do not dare to use my true strength.' Blue light circled around her, and Nego felt something strong, power so raw that it would burst with one touch.

The light died as soon as it came. Hazel looked at him, than she turned her gaze to the heart of the stones. 'Come, the food will be ready soon,' she said as the first light of the day shone gently on the white, thin branches of the trees with blue leaves.


	17. Chapter 17

Nego was scared by how fast Hazel could disappear when she wanted to. He couldn't find her anywhere after the first meal. The forest didn't get a lot of sunlight, which meant it looked like it was still early morning.

Tagu followed him, sniffing the air and shaking his head. Saem, the bulky Shadow gave him directions, 'She went somewhere near Finnwick's claw, the mountain that looks like a claw, somewhere around the Northern parts.'

A cold wind blew, and Nego shivered. Honestly, he liked the Shadows. Stealthy warriors who ambushed, except for Hazel, who was a true assassin with all the senses of craftiness.

Nego found Hazel in a cave. Drawings that glowed in the dark were evident on the cave walls. She was running her hand across the patterns, whispering un-audible words. Matrika followed her footsteps, chittering in distress.

She pulled out something from her pocket: a black cube with white dots on it. Nego remembered he had found it in the storage of the inn, it was a toy that the children played with in Eura.

Something which should not be seen. Hazel pulled out a short, wooden baton which grew into her javelin. Tagu spilled out his misty breath into the air, making Nego crouch closer next to him. His cloak provided some warmth, but the forest had never been sunny.

Matrika rubbed the walls and chittered sadly. There was an outline of a bird with a long beak, long skinny legs and a plume of feathers on its head. It was spreading its wings, it looked so real that Nego half expected it to fly out of the cave.

Hazel looked at the bird sadly. 'I can't hide forever,' she whispered. Hazel concentrated on Matrika, sweat ran down her neck and her pulse was wavering. Nego felt his ears quiver and shake, she was weak, and whatever she was doing could kill her. He felt rooted to the spot

'You have served me well, for now, rest in the stars.' Matrika disappeared and turned into a light that disappeared. Tagu gave a loud bellow. 'Hazel!' he yelled. Nego just managed to catch her before she fell to the ground.

'What did she do?' he asked Tagu. _Seeker, you surely know the truth by now._ The soft voice that spoke to him on Otakia's ship. _Matrika was a star? How is that possible, it acted as her spirit animal. What about the bite marks?_ Nego said in his head.

 _Did you see Matrika go in passive state? Maybe the marks were caused by something else._ Said the voice. _How can you call a star? Is that even possible?_ Nego was barely aware of Tagu licking Hazel's face or the fact that the sky was darkening. _I believe, she told you she has great power. But no, this is not her potential. Her true potential is truly dangerous._

Nego had a thousand thoughts going through his mind. _The one you care about the most has far greater pain than you think she does, the core of the heart is the most vulnerable and most powerful. The egret is her spirit animal, seeker. I believe you know what you have to do._

Very gently, Nego opened her clenched fist. The black dice rolled out to rest on the cave floor. Tagu looked at him. Holding the dice in one hand, Nego looked at Tagu's eyes. Brown eyes that were understanding, eyes of peace and color. Darkness covered his vision.

There was a girl who was running across the forest. Her sequel of laughter rang across the sky. They were in Amaya. An egret with white feathers, long black skinny legs with a plume of grey feathers on its head landed next to her before opening its orange beak to let out a happy cry.

The edges of its wings were a lighter grey too, and its eyes were dark brown, just like the girl. The girl was Hazel, and for once, her eyes didn't send a shiver up his spine. Young Hazel smiled and hugged the egret's long neck. The egret looked bigger, but that was probably because Hazel was small.

'You'll never leave me, will you, Jun?' The bird slowly lifted up one leg and bent all his three, dexterous toes. Hazel smiled and bent her small finger around Jun's toes. She hugged Jun closer towards her. 'Don't you go anywhere,' Hazel said softly.

Suddenly, a large bird of prey swooped out of the sky. 'Scarlett!' Hazel yelped. Jun fluffed up his feathers before following the creature into the sky. A girl that looked around the same age emerged out of the bushes and whistled to the creature.

The bird dived towards the girl in the bushes and spread out its wings at the last minute to slow its landing. Jun landed on the ground by flapping his wings slowly before his long legs gently touched the ground.

'Lyria!' The girl with the bird smiled. 'I didn't even see Scarlett coming,' Hazel said, stroking the powerful bird fearlessly. The bird was an osprey, like the birds in Greenhaven, or a sea hawk like some people liked to call it.

Jun walked carefully next to Hazel. The egret's steps were slow and deliberate. Lyria was just a few millimeters shorter, and her hair was shorter but a lighter color. Also, Hazel's chin was sharper. Nego first thought they were sisters, but then he realized they were probably twins. Fraternal twins.

The egret looked clumsy next to the osprey, who was a magnificent predator. Jun pecked at the ground to check for bugs. 'Dinners ready, it's not a lot. Dad managed to catch some fish with rice, and there's the carrots.'

Hazel smiled and followed her Lyria through the forest with Jun next to her.

The scene turned black for a while before bursting into color. There was a small group of Conquerors. Ten heavily armed soldiers from the Devourer in the second war. There was a man, a woman with Lyria and Hazel.

Scarlett was hobbling next to Lyria. The osprey obviously didn't walk. There were arrows, rocks, dirt and all sorts of stuff flying in the air. The bird was smart, it would've been suicide to fly in the air. Jun was craning his long neck, staying hidden underneath Hazel's cloak.

Hazel was older, a few months after his first vision. She was wearing her navy blue shirt with camo pants. There were cuts all over her arm, and there were the bite marks on her hand, the ones she claimed were from Matrika.

Hazel's family were just getting into a boat that had a few sacks of provisions when a man with dark hair and a sly smile threw a knife, nicking her knee. Lyria tried to clamber out of the boat, but the same knife buried itself into the boat.

Nego recognized the man as Dious. Lyria called out to her, but her parents held her back. Jun puffed out his plumage and stood protectively over her. 'Don't kill me, Dious,' Hazel whimpered. Jun lunged at Dious, but he caught Jun's beak and flipped him onto its back and stepped on his legs lightly.

Hazel stood up shakily. Blood dripped down from her wound. 'Don't kill him either,' she said dangerously. Scarlett gave a shrill cry. Dious smiled and threw another knife that cut the rope holding the boat, pushing it out into the ocean and into nowhere.

He tied up Jun and looked at Hazel. She took the short stick and let the spear head out but it stayed the same length. 'If you want me so much, come get me,' she said boldly.

Smiling, Dious pulled out a black sword with a leather grip. The blood drained from Hazel's face, but she stood her ground. Jun tried to flap his wings, despite the fact they were tied to his sides. Dious charged first, and his swing was deflected by the tip of her javelin.

Dious fought viciously, and Hazel danced across the ground, like she was the ground and the ground was her.

When Dious feinted a stab to the left, Hazel made a mistake. Dious managed to get an opening to her right, and his sword cut through her right arm. Jun squawked in alarm. Hazel fell to her knees. Dious put his dagger under her chin and forced her to raise her head.

'I think … I am done with you.' Dious picked up Jun, who cawed and squawked while flapping his wings. 'Remember your promise,' Hazel said softly.

 **Lyria is based on my sister and Scarlett is the name of the osprey my sister has in the game. None of the things Hazel has experienced are based on my experiences. I've never held a javelin, fought a crazy madman called Dious or (sadly) ever had a spirit animal called Jun. I live a normal life in a normal place. I do, however, like egrets.**

 **If you want me to continue, please leave a review or like this story but if you're a guest, please leave a review.**


	18. Chapter 18

When Nego woke up, Tagu was lying down next to him. Hazel was looking at the sky through the mouth of the cave. 'Silver Warrior, my story makes yours look like a paradise,' she said softly.

She traced her hand over the egret. The image of Jun was still fresh in Nego's mind. A tall bird with white plumage, long, black skinny legs, three dexterous toes, grey feathers around the edges of its wings and a grey plume on its head.

Nego unconsciously reached for Tagu. The buffalo sighed as he scratched the part between his horns. Hazel rubbed the dice with her fingers. The drawings on the cave were very pretty. There was an osprey on one wall and a tree on the other with fluffy clouds and many patterns.

'The dice is a gift from my sister,' she said, reading his mind. 'You saw my childhood?' Nego asked. Hazel smiled faintly. 'You were very brave,' she said.

'Jun was a very loyal bird,' Hazel said while closing her eyes. 'He was slightly taller than my waist, a bit clumsy, but he was very clever and determined.' Nego gulped. The thought of being separated from Tagu seemed unthinkable.

'Matrika was a star who owed me a favor. She helped ease my heartbreak for a little while, assure me that Jun would want me to be healthy when I wouldn't dare to sleep or eat,' she let a grey feather spin in her hand.

'Jun is somewhere with Dious, and I worry about him so much.' The pain was evident in her voice during the last part. Stars glittered across the sky, and Nego thought of how young Hazel had been when she had been separated from her spirit animal.

A paragraph from the book came to his mind. _The worst bonding sickness is the one of being taken away from your spirit animal._ It had been a long time since he read the book. 'The Shadows will have assumed I'm searching the valley late in the night for the plants and herbs that only come out during a specific time.'

Hazel looked at the forest and leaned against the drawing of the egret. Tagu looked at the forest too, and Nego knew something was up. Nego didn't need to tell Hazel, because she ran out of the cave and _jumped_ off the mountain.

She slid down it, using her boomerang she kept in her belt to good use. She used it as leverage to jump from ledge to ledge. The path was too long. Nego had no idea how to jump off mountains. Luckily, Tagu picked him up using his horns and Nego slid onto his back.

Tagu accelerated so fast that Nego thought they would die. Hazel had reached the bottom of the mountain, and she was running so swiftly that she was just a few paces behind. 'Gnikcatta si Suoid!' (Dious is attacking spelled backwards) Hazel yelled before they reached the Heart of the Stones.

The shadows all got up and ran across the forest. Nego gulped and looked at the army, Tagu stood next to him. 'I'll negotiate with Dious,' Hazel said. The Shadows all looked at her. 'Where's Matrika?' one asked. Hazel looked at Nego.

'He will tell you the story,' she said, pointing at him. Amidst the crowd of Shadows gathering around him, Hazel ran off. Nego explained the whole story in the shortest way possible, all while watching Hazel walk towards the enemy.

Hazel walked towards Dious very slowly, which meant by the time he had finished, she had just begun talking. Nego concentrated. _Tagu, please, I've never asked for much._

In an instant, his vision sharpened, his hearing cleared, and it felt like he was watching the scene right in front of him. 'Hello, egret girl,' Dious said in a mocking tone. Behind him, his armies laughed.

'Leave my army alone, Dious. Leave the forest alone. I banded them together, I'm the one you want. Don't kill them, even if they destroyed most of your supplies, we left your livestock alone,' Hazel said. 'And, I want Jun back.' Her voice was the one that people use when they can't show fear.

'You're right. I only want you. Still, your Shadows will fire at me if they see me take you. Also, I want the boy with the buffalo.' 'Don't drag Nego into this,' she hissed. 'I'm afraid if I don't have him … well, I prepared the catapults.'

'Don't fire,' Nego said to the Shadows before running towards them. Dious is sludge, he thought. Tagu followed him. 'Take me and spare her,' he yelped. Dious smiled wickedly. 'Love, how sweet. Still, I have what I want.' Tagu gave a loud rumble as a cougar dug into his flesh.

Dious grabbed them both, and he had hands of iron. 'Let the dogs out,' he commanded. 'No!' Hazel cried. Large dogs, each as big as a wolf with fearsome jaws and muscular bodies leaped out behind the ranks. Snarling and teeth bared, the Shadows ran.

Catapults were fired, and Hazel let out a guttural cry. She sank to her knees, but Dious made her watch. 'Egret girl, war is merciless, war is destruction, war is death and I love it,' Nego bit Dious's hand, but he took it without flinching.

'My dear boy, nothing much can hurt me, but punk, count your lucky stars.' Dious squeezed Nego's shoulder so hard, that Nego felt immense pain in his arm. Tagu gave a sharp 'moo-oo!' Nego gritted his teeth as the pain of his dislocated arm reached its peak.

A Meridious shackled Hazel's wrists and dragged her across the ground. 'Turn back, camp at the shore. We set sail in five days.' Nego looked behind him.

The forest was dead.


	19. Chapter 19

Nego looked at the forest. Saem, the people who had gathered around him for the story, the people who had welcomed him were all dead. The forest was just a smoking patch on the ground. Dious took off their shackles, but Nego didn't feel any less free.

The first two days were the worst. Hazel spent the hours looking out of the bared window in the caravan they were in. She wouldn't eat or drink, which worried him. Tagu helped put the dislocated arm back into its socket which was a painful operation.

The caravan was a dull color and the floorboards were rough. It was very draughty, so it bothered everyone but Tagu. Even while constantly pacing, the cold was just bearable. But it worried Nego more about how cold Hazel was just sitting at the same place.

Dious had taken away their weapons, which meant there was nothing much to do. Nego and Tagu sat next to her for the longest time. Hazel absently spun the dice in her fingers.

On the third day, in what seemed like ages, 'Pass me the bread, will you? And the cup.' Nego felt relieved hearing her voice. Even if it sounded like someone on their deathbed. She tore her bread in smaller pieces and chewed on it.

The bread tasted horrible but she drained it down with water. Nego looked out of the window. Large, heavily armed brutes that looked like they were made entirely of metal surrounded the caravan pulled by six oxen. 'I haven't told you what Dious wants. He plans to take the Watchers talismans.'

'Iika, Finnwick, Lia, Akai and Tagu have talismans?' Nego asked. 'The Diamond Reindeer of Iika, the Onyx Bear of Finnwick, the Emerald Gecko of Lia, the Ruby Woodpecker of Akai and the Moonstone Buffalo of Tagu.'

Tagu chewed on the chaff he was given. Hazel looked at him, and that memorable shiver went up his spine. It was annoying and nice at the same time. Her eyes seemed dead. Like the life was sucked out of it. The constant bump of the caravan in the morning until late night made it hard to concentrate.

Nego pulled out the splinters of the scratchy, wooden floorboards out of his palm. With a loud jolt and orders to stop sounding in the air, the small flap in the heavily locked caravan door opened. There were two fur jackets, snow boots, socks and gloves.

'They're going to Antarctica.' Even as he said it, Nego couldn't help but let some fear creep into his voice. Hazel tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 'Those who are completely without fear are the ones that don't survive.'

Hazel got the black fur jacket while Nego got the one that was made out of an unidentifiable creature. It was brown with shades of white and black mingled in it. 'It looks good on you,' Hazel said while pulling her jacket over her head.

She closed her eyes. 'They're taking us to the southern part.' 'Is that good?' he asked. 'It's the most dangerous place of all. The Ardu don't go there. The polar bears are at their most vicious, the seals are wily and the orcas are the most determined predator of all.'

Nego gulped. 'We're real lucky, aren't we, going off to the land of cold and ice.' Hazel smiled faintly. A bit of life seemed to spark a little in her eyes. 'Yes, we're seriously lucky.'

Dious had twenty-nine large ships to carry his army and their cargo across the sea. _Iika, it would be real nice if you could talk in my head again. You see, there is an army who is about to destroy the Watchers._ Nego hadn't expected an answer but it came. _I know. The full moon is coming, and we're meeting in the southern part of Antarctic. Some things cannot be prevented._

Ten armed guards escorted them to the biggest ship, of course. 'They can go down the basement, there isn't a lot of space,' Dious told the guards. 'Also, you,' he pointed to Nego. 'Don't think I'm dumb. Your buffalo in passive state, now.'

Tagu looked at the guards, than at the sword that Dious held. He looked at the sea and lowered his nose to chew on the grass. For what seemed like ages, Tagu disappeared in a flash of soft light. 'Don't you dare release him, or else,' Dious warned.

Even while on the ship, Nego was cold. The forest was cold and it was dark, even during the day, but the ship seemed colder. Hazel put her hands in her pockets and looked at the sky. 'Jun, please come back,' she whispered.

Every time Nego saw her longing for her spirit animal to come, his heart turned cold. Her eyes were wet and she would rub the dice in a yearning way.

The basement was a tiny room with a tiny lamp hanging from the ceiling. There was a tiny barred window with fine wire over it and glass shards sticking out of it. The guards pushed them in and closed the door.

The more time flew, the colder it got in the basement. Nego wished Tagu was here, but his hooves would cause a lot of noise and Dious would go whammy them. Every part of the ship was cold. He pulled his coat tighter around himself.

'You, stay there,' Hazel said while hanging up a white sheet in her corner. 'Where did you get that?' Nego asked. 'Here, I found it somewhere at the back.' She threw him a rolled up curtain. 'There are hooks in the ceiling, I think this used to be an invention room,' Nego said while hanging his up.

Despite the cold, sleep managed to find them in the end.

There was a disturbance in the background. Nego opened his eyes only to find Hazel was already up. He parted the curtain and slid over to her. She held a finger to her lips in an obvious gesture. _Quiet._ And then she made at least twenty gestures that Nego hardly understood.

There were sounds of a scuffle outside. Boots skidding over the deck, quiet cries of surprise, the clicking sound of a lock and the sound of the doorknob turning. Nego held his breath.

The door opened to reveal the unmistakable shape of an egret. 


	20. Chapter 20

The rain added the effect. Hazel's hands were shaking. Nego slid away and hid in the curtains. The egret had one foot raised, its feathers fluffed up. The bird was tall, just a bit shorter than Tagu.

The egret wasn't so much threatening as much as it was tall. Grey feathers edged its wings with long, black skinny legs and its grey plume on its head was sticking out in the air. The water ran off its feathers.

Nego felt much safer in the curtains. Taking a trembling step forward, the egret looked at her with intelligent brown eyes. Hazel stretched out her hand. Her eyes sparked a little, hope rising. The bird made its way to her and lowered itself.

'You never broke the promise, Jun. You never did,' she said while clutching its neck. She raised her arm to stroke the egret's neck. 'You've grown a lot.'

Jun stretched out his wings and looked at the open door. Snapping out of reality, Nego appeared out of the curtains. 'I hope you don't mind water, because that's the only way out.'

Hazel looked at him. Her eyes were shining with happiness, they didn't make Nego's spine shiver. She stood up, looked towards the crashing waves and took off her coat and threw it at the back of the boat adding to the boots and gloves they had _both_ thrown to wear later.

Nego kicked his fur jacket to the back. 'I need my cloak back,' he said. 'You don't plan to leave your weapon here, do you? And we're going to need supplies.' Jun nodded. Hazel closed her eyes and took Jun's beak in her hands.

Jun folded back his wings and raised one foot to put her arms back to her sides. The egret took off. Hazel ran after him with Nego tailing after them. The egret spread his wings to fly next to the ship.

It turned in sharply to land on the railing. Hazel opened the door and walked carefully across the boxes. Quietly, Nego found Yarrow with his cloak and Hazel found her javelin and boomerang. Nego climbed down to the lower deck and unleashed Tagu.

'Escaping off the ship. You know the drill.' Tagu looked at Hazel and the egret. 'That's Jun,' Nego answered. Tagu huffed and rumbled. 'Objective is to, I don't know. Maybe escape and find talismans. We could find yours first.'

Hazel gently parted the fur around Tagu's neck. Even in the heavy rain, Nego managed to catch a glimpse of something shining in the rain. On a string that was as light as a feather but as strong as the rope of the rigging, a tiny buffalo carved out of moonstone reflected two colors.

Pink, blue and shades of green mixed together. 'I think, we have found our first Talisman,' Hazel whispered.

 **Not the end, book two will come out. If you want to find what egret Jun was based on search on 'Ono, the lion guard wiki.' (Yeah, a Disney character from the lion king sequel) Anyway, I thank all the guest who reviewed and the one person who dared to follow this story and the other equally cool person who favorited it. I think of all the guest and people who decided to see what this story was about as great individuals.**

 **If you want to see more, please look out for book two. I hope that we'll get twice as more reviews and two followers this time and not just one. Not forgetting the guest, I thank all of you guys.**


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